


Distance

by NeonGreyscale



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blind Character, Dancing, First Kiss, M/M, Original Character(s), RMS Titanic, Slow Dancing, even tho theyre on the titanic its not rlly that relevant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 14:10:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4062889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonGreyscale/pseuds/NeonGreyscale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Late one night in the ballroom, Alexander is playing piano, when he's interrupted by a friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Distance

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, I suck at summaries.
> 
> Anyway, since these are my own characters whom you know nothing about, I'll provide a small description to give you an idea.  
> It's set in 1912 on the Titanic in Alexander's POV; Alexander is blind, and he has dark brown hair, and he's tall. Paul is a bit shorter, and blond. They're both English.

Alexander moved his hands across the keys of the piano, the motions familiar and automatic to him. The distance between the keys that played out this particular tune was a distance long memorized by now; it was the first song he'd learned on his own, with no assistance from his brother. The pressure of his fingers against the keys combined with the reverberation of the music in the empty room never ceased to comfort him.  
Hearing a soft noise, Alexander paused for a few moments. Hearing no other sound after that, he began to play from where he left off, only to hit the wrong key. "Damn it," he hissed.  
"No reason to curse," a voice spoke up from across the room, causing Alexander to jump. "You played beautifully."  
"Paul," Alexander sighed in slight annoyance. "Do announce your presence next time. I can't see, you know."  
"I wouldn't want to interrupt," he said, and Alexander could hear the smile in his voice. "Sorry if the question is rude, but I wonder, how does someone play a piano without seeing it?"  
Alexander licked his lips as he thought for a moment. "After you get used to it, you can remember the distance between each key, without having to run your fingers across the ones between them. It takes practice, but it is possible."  
"I see," his friend said after a moment's pause, and a bit awkwardly, which made Alexander assume Paul had simply nodded before realizing the obvious, but he made no comment on that. "What are you doing up this late, anyway?" Paul asked him.  
"It's the only time I can play," he replied as his friend's footsteps approached him.  
"Why not play it at some... less ungodly hour, when people can hear your music? Then they could hear something beautiful, and you could try getting some sleep at night." Paul sat on the piano bench beside him, and Alexander scooted over to give him room.  
"I don't do well with crowds. All the people, and all their noise... I wouldn't be able to concentrate. I'm not a performer; that's Glenn."  
"All the same, don't you ever imagine people dancing to your music? Wouldn't it be a good experience?"  
"Dancing doesn't exactly make a noise, so no, I can't imagine it," Alexander replied, and quickly added a smile to let him know he meant no malice by his sarcasm. He heard Paul sigh with a soft, embarrassed laugh.  
"Sorry, I keep forgetting."  
"It's no trouble... Paul, what is dancing like? I mean, I've been told it's just moving along to music, and I do that sometimes on my own, but how does it feel to dance with another person?"  
"It's hard to explain something like that. If you want, we could..."  
"We could what?"  
"We could dance together now. So I could show you," Paul said quickly, a hint of nervousness in his voice.  
Alexander considered this, not letting himself get too excited over what was probably nothing. "We have no music," he pointed out.  
"If you absolutely _need_ music, I'd do my best, but I assure you I am a terrible singer."  
Alexander relaxed slightly as he heard the smile return to the man's voice, and met it with his own; small, but genuine. "Alright, then," he said as he stood. Paul stood as well, and after a moment's hesitation, he grabbed the crook of Alexander's arm to guide him to the middle of the empty ballroom. For a second there was nothing, and then Paul gripped his right hand and guided his left onto his shoulder. Alexander's heartbeat quickened as he felt the warmth of Paul's hand on his waist. The other man cleared his throat before speaking.  
"The dance forms a sort of box shape. You move one foot forward and bring the other forward to meet it. Actually, I would be moving forwards-- you would be moving backwards. Then you would do the same, moving to the left, then forward, then right. A box."  
"Okay, I think I've got it. Tell me when you move."  
"I'll count the steps," Paul said. "Backwards first. One... Two..." They only got two steps in before Alexander stepped on Paul's foot and tensed up.  
"I don't think I'll be any good at this," Alexander said.  
"It's fine, it just takes practice. It's like you said about playing piano; after a while, you'll memorize the distance between each step. We can start again."  
Alexander paused. "Okay."  
The two began to dance again, falling into a rhythm after a while. Alexander didn't realize how close they had been leaning into each other until he felt Paul's exhale against his cheek. He tilted his head up slightly, heart pounding as he felt their lips brush together. Alexander was about to jump back away from him when Paul moved even closer, kissing him gently and dropping his friend's hand to cradle his face.  
Alexander took an abrupt step back, separating them. "I... I shouldn't..."  
"What?" Paul asked, sounding hurt. Alexander hated that, wanted to comfort him, but was surprised by his own sudden feelings. He didn't know what to say.  
"A man shouldn't want another man the way that I--" he cut himself off as he became aware of what he was about to say.  
"You what?" Paul asked, his voice echoing just barely in the empty room, but was met with no reply. "Do you want me?" His voice was low and soft, but demanding of an answer, and laced with desire.  
"Yes," Alexander whispered back, reaching out slowly. His hand found the other man's chest, and he moved it upwards to hold his face, bringing his other hand up to do the same as he kissed him once more.  
Paul deepened the kiss, letting out a moan of relief from all the tension between them that suddenly dissipated. As Alexander's hands moved down to the other's hips, however, a new tension grew- certainly a better kind, but tension demanded release nonetheless.  
The kiss ended, and Alexander was fearful for a moment as the two separated and he heard Paul's hurried footsteps. He allowed himself to relax a little as he heard Paul walking back towards him, and he felt him press the smooth surface of his cane into his hand. "Follow me to my room," Paul said.

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to add a sex scene but then I got lazy, sorry, haha...


End file.
